The PLA ZTZ-99A MBT (Type 99) came to be what it is today from various upgrade programs that began with the Type 98, the Type 98 mostly a prototype was produced between 1996 and 1998 and was developed from the studying (Reverse engineering) of the Russian T-72 MBT. At least 18 Type 98 tanks were produced with none entering official service. You can see allot of the T-72 ancestry throughout the various upgrades and testing phases of the Type 98. From this research and development phase, they eventually unveiled the production version the Type 99 in 2000. It is estimated that around 620 of these tanks have now been produced.
The Chinese have used ideas and design concepts from the west and east with the production version resembling a cross between a T-72 and a Leopard. However, the Type 99 is now looking more and more like a vehicle produced by a western country as it has gone through its various modernizing programs.
The major changes from the early version, the type 99 Initial version (in the below picture) to the Type 99A1 seen today, is the upgrading of the engine, suspension, new add-on Armour and the development of a new turret that resembles or has incorporated design features from the Leopard MBT.
